1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chain guide device provided in a chain drive type vehicle wherein a wheel is rotated through a power transmitting action of an endless chain wrapped around a drive sprocket provided in a driving force generating device and a driven sprocket provided on the wheel.
2. Description of Background Art
In a chain drive type vehicle, attendant on the lapse of operation time, the wearing of pins and bushes in a roller chain proceeds, whereby the overall length of the roller chain is elongated. Due to the elongation, the roller chain may become loose to the lower side. Therefore, a device for supporting the roller chain is needed.
Conventionally, as a device for guiding the roller chain in a chain drive type vehicle, a variety of chain guide devices have been proposed. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-096215 (FIGS. 2 and 4).
As shown in FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-096215, a chain guide device (30) (the parenthesized symbols are those used in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-096215, here and hereafter) includes a mounting stay (hereinafter referred to “support stay”) (41) mounted to a lower surface (26a) of a rear swing arm (26) constituting a part of a body frame, a chain guide bracket (42) attached to the support stay (41) through a bolt (44), and a chain guide (hereinafter referred to as “chain guide body”) (43) assembled onto the chain guide bracket (42).
In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2006-096215, a fitting part (46) of the chain guide body (43) is fitted in a fitting hole (45), and the chain guide bracket (42) is clamped between a flange part (48) at the front end of the fitting part (46) and a projection (49) at the rear end of the fitting part (46). Consequently, the chain guide body (43) is assembled onto the chain guide bracket (42) assuredly.
Meanwhile, the chain guide body (43) must be made narrower when assembled onto the chain guide bracket (42). Therefore, an elastic material being soft or flexible must be used to form the chain guide body (43). Then, since the elastic material is susceptible to wearing, it is necessary to form the chain guide body (43) as a thick and heavy member. In addition, a complicated mold is needed for forming the chain guide body (43), which leads to poor productivity.
Thus, there is a need for a chain guide device wherein it is unnecessary to make a chain guide body a thick and heavy member. Thus, the productivity of the chain guide body can be enhanced.